We have a brokerage which we have intentionally kept small to this point in time.  

I'm looking to purchase a small apt with hard money and I'm thinking of how to refinance the loan through conventional banks for a lower rate with little income on tax forms.  

There was an episode on American Greed about Remington financial.. they were in business over 20 years their target was small commercial to bigger multi or commercial.. they charged 5 to 10k DD fee's estimated they brought in over 200 million in the 22 years they operated.. by the time the FBI was done with them.. they could not establish that they had made more than 11 loans in all those years.... long prison sentences. your instincts are fine and intact.

You won't take the credit hit unless you actually apply for a loan.You may want to talk to the commercial lending desk and not residential (think one loan for 8 units, vs. 8 individual loans which would probably be too small for them to want to do).

Could you get approved for a conventional commercial loan for a small apt property if you only had roughly 20k on your tax returns but have an excellent credit score, $0 debt, real estate owned free and clear, and cash reserves ?

But I can't even get a small loan for a down payment on a duplex. 

I am looking to purchase a small multifamily rental building in an area of Connecticut that has 85% of residential buildings being owned mostly by single families, and only 15% rental.

To get started, I see myself getting my feet wet with self-managing small multi-families with the possibility of living in one of the units. 

@Chris Tracy small, 10 units near a college :) looking positive so far!

Hi, I am seeking to invest in my first, single or small multi-family property in a location that I would not be living in.